Shadow

Chapter 43: The Black Shadow

Bai Yanliang certainly knew that there was something wrong with the death of Bai Yanren.

His own memory had never once failed him, yet regarding that specific day, there wasn't a single image in his mind, as if... his memory had been forcibly extracted.

Since Feng Xiuxue knew about the death of Bai Yanren, it meant she had long since investigated the events of that year. Her sister had gone missing, and the time of her disappearance was almost identical to the time of the incident involving Bai Yanren.

Bai Yanliang first considered how much of her words could be trusted.

A moment later, he reached a conclusion.

Feng Xiuxue had no reason to deceive him.

She likely wanted to obtain some information from him, but unfortunately, Bai Yanliang knew even less than she did. After all, he had spent ten years in a psychiatric hospital and had been completely unable to conduct any investigations.

Silence fell between the two.

Outside the window, the traffic flowed like a river, and the crowds were dense.

In this world, everyone has secrets; they only differ in quantity, size, or scope.

The two deliberately avoided some sensitive questions, such as how they had entered the Mist Gathering.

Bai Yanliang guessed that perhaps Feng Xiuxue also possessed a key—her sister's key.

The Mist Gathering was not a good place; it could cost one their life at any moment.

But... they were already inside it, and there was no possibility of escape.

Perhaps, back then, Bai Yanren and Feng Yiru had been the same.

The cafe was quiet, with only a faint sound emanating from the television hanging on the wall.

"...Criminal suspect Hao Bowen committed suicide in the Jiangbei Branch detention center in the early hours of last night. Why would such a young boy embark on a path of murder and crime? The lack of education is gradually brewing tragic consequences..."

Bai Yanliang suddenly looked up. Just as Feng Xiuxue thought he was about to say something, she saw his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the television.

Feng Xiuxue followed his gaze, and her expression gradually changed.

Although the image on the television was pixelated, the glaring patch of crimson was still shocking.

But what truly caused Feng Xiuxue's face to change drastically was not that, but... she could see a twisted black shadow leaving the corpse and walking out of the frame!

She stood up with a start, the sound of the table and chairs colliding appearing exceptionally loud in the quiet cafe.

"It's them!"

Feng Xiuxue's voice suddenly turned sharp, but she clearly did not realize it, or rather, having seen that scene, her mind was in such turmoil that she had no thought to consider anything else.

The consequence was that the people in the cafe, whether on their lunch break or chatting in low voices, cast their gazes toward her. But upon seeing Feng Xiuxue, their expressions grew increasingly strange, shifting from frowning dissatisfaction to confusion and suspicion, and finally to... excitement and surprise.

"Feng Yiru?"

"Is that Feng Yiru?"

"It really is her! Why is she here?"

Feng Xiuxue's sudden loss of composure had plunged her into a crisis. Fortunately, Bai Yanliang did not possess the function of losing his head.

He decisively pulled up Feng Xiuxue, who was still staring blankly at the television, left some cash, and walked away quickly.

Perhaps Bai Yanliang's movements were too fast, or perhaps the people in the cafe couldn't believe their eyes; by the time everyone regained their senses, Feng Xiuxue had already been pulled away by a strange man.

They were certain that the kid was definitely not any famous figure, let alone a celebrity.

Wait... why would Feng Xiuxue appear here, dating some unknown guy?

Gossip always spreads quickly, especially gossip concerning popular actresses.

Fortunately, Bai Yanliang was not one to surf the internet much, otherwise, his expression right now would certainly not be very pleasant.

On a street-side bench.

Bai Yanliang frowned slightly, looking at a scratch on his arm.

He hadn't expected that the first thing Feng Xiuxue would do after regaining her senses was to scratch him, and the reason was that he had held her hand?

"You saw the black shadow on the screen too?" Bai Yanliang looked at Feng Xiuxue, who was keeping her head down and trying to hide herself; now she finally remembered that she was a public figure.

Feng Xiuxue nodded, sitting restlessly on the bench like a thief.

"There are many pretty girls nowadays; no one will pay you much attention. The more you act like this, the more you attract notice."

Bai Yanliang swore he was telling the truth, but the look Feng Xiuxue gave him suddenly became very unfriendly.

However, after he said that, Feng Xiuxue at least returned to a more normal state.

"That twisted black shadow... it should only be visible to us..." Feng Xiuxue whispered.

Us?

Bai Yanliang thought about what she meant.

The only thing they had in common, and the only thing that made them different from others, was the Mist Gathering. In other words, only those within the Mist Gathering could see it.

In other words, although they hadn't noticed it, had they—these people—already been changed by the Mist Gathering in some way...

That black thing was clearly not a normal living creature.

The television broadcast must have been vetted before airing, yet no one could see it; they all simply perceived it as a normal image.

And judging by what Feng Xiuxue meant, it seemed she had seen this kind of thing more than once?

Bai Yanliang did not hide his inquisitive gaze, and Feng Xiuxue quickly understood what he meant.

"...After my sister went missing, I once entered her room, and one time... I accidentally saw something like this... crawl into her mirror."

"Besides... Li Mu and the others have also mentioned that they occasionally see things like this in reality."

Is that so...

Bai Yanliang stroked his chin, lost in thought.

What exactly were these things?

Ghosts?

No... if they were truly the kind of malicious spirits found in the Mist Gathering, the order of this world would have collapsed long ago.

Then what kind of existence were they?

Bai Yanliang's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Although he could not currently determine what that black shadow was, he was certain that this thing must have some connection to what happened to Yanren ten years ago!

It was too similar, there were too many coincidences.

Bai Yanliang did not believe in coincidences; in his view, all coincidences in the world were inevitable outcomes influenced by some unknown factor.

What he needed to do now was find the catalyst that caused these coincidences.

Thinking of this, Bai Yanliang prepared to stand up and take his leave.

But just as he rose, Feng Xiuxue hurriedly stood up from the bench after him.

"I am leaving." Bai Yanliang looked at her calmly.

"I know." Feng Xiuxue adjusted her oversized sunglasses, and seemingly feeling that this wasn't secure enough, she quickly lowered her head as well.

"Why are you following me?"

"Who is following you?" Feng Xiuxue looked left and right while hiding most of her body behind Bai Yanliang.

"I am going to investigate a case." Bai Yanliang looked at her speechlessly and stated his true objective.

"Me too." Feng Xiuxue looked at Bai Yanliang and said earnestly, "Something similar appeared in my sister's room; they must be related to my sister's disappearance."

"But..."

Bai Yanliang suddenly paused. He realized with a start that he could not refute Feng Xiuxue's words, because her objective, it seemed, was indeed much the same as his.